Lekman recorded and released much of his material privately from 2000 to 2003 on CD-R. Because one of his songs during this time was entitled "Rocky Dennis' Farewell Song to the Blind Girl", Lekman was mistakenly referred to as Rocky Dennis for a while (the song was actually written from the perspective of the main character of the 1985 film Mask). Lekman says that it was a "mistake": "someone thought that was my real name cause I had a song about him, and then radio picked up on it, and I never had a chance to change it". He put the confusion to rest with his Rocky Dennis in Heaven EP (2004).
His self-released 7" vinyl EP Maple Leaves caused a big stir in 2003, mainly due to sound files circulating on file sharing networks. When the same EP was released on CD by the Swedish independent label Service Records in the autumn, he was already a well-known name. The songs Maple Leaves and Black Cab were heavily played on Swedish national radio. He soon signed a contract with the American label Secretly Canadian for releases outside of Sweden. Heavy touring and his debut album soon followed.
His first album When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog was released in 2004, and consisted of recordings made between 2000 and 2004 (some tracks had been previously released independently by Lekman). The album attracted attention among the alternative music press in both Europe and the US. The song You Are The Light was a successful radio hit, and a video received some rotation in the Nordic MTV and ZTV. In Sweden the album reached #6 in the national chart. Lekman was nominated for three Swedish Grammies, three P3 Guld and three Manifest awards, as well as dubbed album of the year by Nöjesguiden.
A concert film shot from Lekman's sold-out show with José González at Göteborg's concert hall in December 2003 was broadcast by Swedish national television two times in 2005. In June 2005, a compilation CD of Jens' first three EPs, with extra tracks, was released as Oh You're So Silent Jens. Lekman also had a track on Secretly Canadian's SC100 compilation, released in April 2007.
His latest album, Night Falls Over Kortedala, was released in October 2007, and appeared on many lists for the best albums of said year.
Live performances by Lekman differs in style. Sometimes he performs alone with only a guitar and a CD player, or doing a capella versions of his songs. Other times, he is accompanied by a choir and string quartet, and he was recently seen on tour with a full band (including horns etc) consisting of all women musicians, dressed in white 60s dresses.
Official: [http://www.jenslekman.com]
Fan-site/Forum: [http://www.mapleleaves.se]
I Saw Her in the Anti War Demonstration
Jens Lekman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For me in the demonstration
Well I have already lost patience
You might find me sitting by
On the pavement
Maybe not cause I have shrunk
I fell in love with a punk
Now there's nothing left
But love enough to feed a family
I just want to feed Emily
With lukewarm English beer
And vegan pancakes
I saw her in the anti-war demonstration
Was a sweet sensation of love
When I was sixteen
I hung out with the kids who lacked it
And the punks who were born and let her jacket
The kind of punks that place themselves in brackets
She was one of them back then
She was somebody's girlfriend
And I was no one
I had nothing
And the skies were clear blue skies
And her eyes were clear blue eyes
And her thighs were about the same size as mine
And we were walking
In the anti-war demonstration
Was a sweet sensation of love
Of love
It was a sweet sensation of love
In "I Saw Her in the Anti War Demonstration," Jens Lekman sings about his past experiences with love and activism. He begins by addressing someone who is looking for him in a demonstration, but he has already given up on waiting for them. Perhaps this is a metaphor for the idea that he is no longer as actively involved in activism as he once was. He mentions that he fell in love with a punk who took his breath away, but this love resulted in him having nothing left except love itself. He desires to have enough love to feed a family, specifically mentioning wanting to feed Emily with lukewarm English beer and vegan pancakes. He then delves into his past experiences with activism and love as a teenager, specifically during an anti-war demonstration where he saw a girl who caught his eye. They walked together, and it was a sweet sensation of love.
Looking deeper into the lyrics, we see a recurring theme of love being intertwined with activism. Perhaps Lekman is trying to convey that the passion and energy he once had for activism has now been redirected towards love and caring for others. The punk that he fell in love with could represent the rebellious nature of activism itself, while the mention of vegan pancakes and feeding Emily could represent the idea of taking care of one's community.
Overall, "I Saw Her in the Anti War Demonstration" is a nostalgic and heartfelt reflection on Lekman's past experiences with activism and love. It showcases the interconnectivity of these feelings and how they can inspire and motivate individuals to make positive changes in their world.
Line by Line Meaning
You're looking
You are searching for me
For me in the demonstration
You are searching for me at the protest
Well I have already lost patience
I am already tired of waiting
You might find me sitting by
You may find me sitting
On the pavement
On the ground
Maybe not cause I have shrunk
I may not be noticeable because I have become smaller
I fell in love with a punk
I fell in love with someone who identifies as a punk
And she took my breath
She left me breathless
Now there's nothing left
Now I have nothing left
But love enough to feed a family
But I have a lot of love to give
I just want to feed Emily
I just want to provide for someone named Emily
With lukewarm English beer
With slightly warm beer from England
And vegan pancakes
And pancakes made without any animal products
I saw her in the anti-war demonstration
I saw her at the protest opposing war
Was a sweet sensation of love
It was a pleasant feeling of love
When I was sixteen
When I was 16 years old
I hung out with the kids who lacked it
I spent time with people who lacked something
And the punks who were born and let her jacket
And the punks who were reckless and carefree
The kind of punks that place themselves in brackets
The type of punks who categorize themselves
She was one of them back then
She was one of those punks at that time
She was somebody's girlfriend
She was the girlfriend of someone else
And I was no one
And I was insignificant
I had nothing
I had no possessions or achievements
And the skies were clear blue skies
And the weather was clear and sunny
And her eyes were clear blue eyes
And her eyes were clear and blue in color
And her thighs were about the same size as mine
And her thighs were similar in size to mine
And we were walking
And we were strolling
In the anti-war demonstration
At the protest opposing war
Was a sweet sensation of love
It was a pleasant feeling of love
Of love
A feeling of love
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Jens Martin Lekman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
A. Tibs.
I love this song and is kind of 60's. Then it hit me, the riff of this song is almost the same as "What You're Doing" by The Beatles!